For the proper study of any aspect of Maori life - enthnological, economic, or historical - a preliminary census of Maori population would appear to be essential. Preliminary surveys of population-movements do, in fact, appear in the introduction to a number of recent books on primitive peoples. But only one such survey of any New Zealand area has yet appeared - Miss E. Durward�s paper on the Maori population of Otago. (1) How completely the need for accurate estimates of Maori population has been lost sight of its demonstrated by the appearance in August 1940, and of The Maori of To-day, edited by Professor I. L. G. Sutherland, in which no independant study of Maori population is made, though the editor quotes Dr. Buck�s estimate of from 200,000 to 500,000 for the pre-European population (2) while Harold Miller quotes Colenso�s estimate of 60,000 killed in inter-tribal wars between 1820 and 1837, and Roger Duff places the pre-European South Island native population at from eight to ten thousand. (3). These figures will be discussed later, but it can be said here that all three are guess work. Further, it is of interest to note that Miss Durward�s paper is not mentioned by any contributor.
This paper aims at defining the numbers and location of the Maori communities which inhabited the South Island of New Zealand from the era which saw the arrival of the Waitaha (1) up to the year 1940. It attempts to re-construct population history through this period and to describe the situation at the present time--Introduction.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/217690 |
| Date | January 1941 |
| Creators | Rutherford, D. W. (Donald William), n/a |
| Publisher | University of Otago. History |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://policy01.otago.ac.nz/policies/FMPro?-db=policies.fm&-format=viewpolicy.html&-lay=viewpolicy&-sortfield=Title&Type=Academic&-recid=33025&-find), Copyright D. W. (Donald William) Rutherford |
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